Let's Play: X-Com UFO Defense

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    So today I came to a sad realization, my fellow forumers. In all the time we've spent together we've never had a Let's Play done by one of our members. So, I've taken it upon myself to fill this hole with what I think will be one of the more entertaining games. Introducing for your viewing and reading pleasure...

 This is X-Com: UFO Defense. Why does this screenshot say Enemy Unknown? Because for unknown reasons Microprose gave the game a different name in the US and Europe. X-Com is a squad turn-based tactical strategy game based around the following premise: Earth is being invaded by aliens, and the governments of the world have banded together to fund a multi-national armed force called X-Com. Their mission is to destroy the alien threat.

 Let me start off by saying this game is Nintendo Hard. I've played this game since it came out in 1994 and I have never once even gotten close to beating it. The aliens are smart, deadly, and very unfair. Your troopers were apparently supplied by the Galactic Empire, as they have about the same accuracy. During the course of this Let's Play I will be renaming my troops after all you fine folks on the forum. Attrition will be murderous, expect to see many of them fall in battle. In fact I would be suprised if any of the original crop make it to the 3rd mission.

 The game is played in 2 seperate systems. First, the Geoscape. It's a 3d model of the earth, allowing you to place bases on any land (Funds willing). Your bases serve as hangers for your interceptors (Used to shoot down UFOs) and your dropship (Used to ferry the troops out to the UFOs or crash sites). Here you play a bit of an empire-building simulation side of the game. You must manage your bases, keep them well supplied with equipment and troopers, keep your ships armed and ready, and keep the governments of the world happy with your performance. You also have research and manufacture to contend with. As you progress, you acquire alien technology that can be researched, allowing you to build better weaponry and armor.

 The second half of the game is the tactical game. When you dispatch your dropship to a location to begin a mission, you are placed on an isometric battlefield. This field can have multiple "levels" of height. The game is very clever about things like cover and concealment. You only see what your troopers see, so if all your soldiers are looking the wrong way an alien can sneak right up on them.

 The tactical game is played in turns. You go first, then the aliens, then back to you. Every action you do with your troopers uses up time units, once you run out of time units on a soldier he cannot do anything else until the next turn. In fact the aliens play by the exact same rules, something we will hope to exploit.

 I'll get a bit more into the mechanics as we get into some missions, but for now let's get started.

 Here we're sitting at the Geoscape just after founding the first X-Com base. Naturally we chose to place this base in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And appropriately we named it...

 Our three ships are cozy in their hangers, we have a bit over $4 million in the bank, and our troops are in their barracks. Speaking of, let's get to know the troopers...

 These will be our first crop of recruits to go into combat against the alien menace. Never have we seen a finer bunch of men, ready to lay their lives on the line for the sake of humankind. Well...Actually, let's take a closer look at some stats.

 Woah. Okay, so TheGuy has some good reactions, some good accuracy overall, but...He's a bit of a wuss. His bravery score is terrible. I sure hope he can hack it when he comes face to face with the aliens.

 Reb is a little better. Again, I wonder if he can handle the stresses of combat. If not...Well, it looks like he's gonna be really good at throwing grenades.

 Enough with the troops. There's not a whole lot we can do for them now besides try and get them the best gear government money can buy. Tippmann HQ has 10 scientists on site, so let's get them working. Laser weapons are usually a safe bet, you can't go wrong with more dakka.

 Speaking of dakka, here comes my shipment. A few more rifles, some ammunition, and a whole pack of grenades. After all, if our troops are going to be using rifles supplied by the Empire we'd better give them a whole lot of explosives to throw around.

 We'd better get the ship loaded. Wait, are those pistols? What in gods name would we need sidearms for if we're fighting aliens? We'd better sell that junk off, we could use the cash anyway.

 Taking a look at the stats for Tippmann HQ we can see that we need a bit more storage space. Once we start hauling alien booty back to the shop we're going to need a place to pile it. Also our basic radar coverage isn't going to hack it. At this rate we're only going to be picking up bogeys above the USA, and X-Com is supposed to be defending the entire planet...

 Yes. We're defending the entire planet with a handful of forumers.

 Just as my scientists are getting down to work the radar picks up something. A UFO! It's buzzing around over the central United States. Interceptor 1 is scrambled to meet it...

 The pilot gets the UFO centered on the scope...Orders are to attempt to force a landing, but the flyboy gets a bit overzealous. The UFO explodes into a million pieces above Illinois...

 So it seems like our brave soldiers will have to wait for tommorow for their first ground combat. Stay tuned!